The electic eight

If you call yourself a fan of the beautiful game, you should know about these wunderkids

While the best players on the planet are lighting up the footballing world in Brazil this summer, there are a whole host of youngsters just waiting in the wings to be the next Messis and Ronaldos. You already know the Eden Hazards, Thibaut Courtois and Aaron Ramseys of the world, so this week we’re introducing you to eight players who might not have caught your eye yet, but you won’t dare look away when they do.

Jese Rodriguez: The 21-year-old Real Madrid striker has scored 8 goals in 31 appearances this season and is rated very highly by the youth team coaches at the club. He has leapfrogged fellow Spanish youth star Alvaro Morata as the most promising young product to emerge from the club, and is already drawing comparisons with legendary Spanish forward Raul.

Michy Batshuayi: The Standard Liege striker is seen as the next Romelu Lukaku from Belgium. The 20-year-old’s physical attributes and eye for goals make him a fantastic target man. Michy led the line at Standard this season and banged in 25 goals in all competitions. Arsenal and Everton are both rumoured to be interested in signing Batshuayi, and a move to the big time is beckoning the Standard hitman.

Antoine Griezmann: The 23-year-old French international is the last forward on our list and easily the oldest of the players we’re keeping an eye on. A slightly late bloomer, the Frenchman moved to Spain when he was 15 and worked his way up the youth ranks at Real Sociedad. Known to have a sweet left-foot, Griezmann scored 20 goals despite not playing as an out and out striker, and may be joining a bigger club a lot sooner than the rest of the players on this list.

James Rodriguez: If Griezmann is the ideal left winger for our attack force then Monaco’s James Rodriquez will gladly run full backs ragged on the opposite wing. The 22-year-old baby-faced Colombian is heading to the World Cup and has already made a mark in his debut season with the Principality club by scoring 10 and assisting a further 14 goals in just 38 appearances.

Max Meyer: The title of the youngest of our exotic eight goes hands down to 18-year old Schalke attacking midfielder Max Meyer. While his slightly older teammate Julian Draxler might be garnering most of the headlines, Meyer has quietly grabbed seven goals in this his first full season with the first team and has also won his first cap for the senior national team. Traditionally a No. 10, Meyer can also play on either wing and it will be interesting to see how long Schalke will be able to hang on to him.

Marco Verratti: The ideal youngster to play the perfect foil to Meyer’s attacking talent would be Paris St. Germain’s 21-year-old midfielder Marco Verratti. A deep-lying playmaker in the Andrea Pirlo mode, Verrati has quite the eye for a pass. He doesn’t just split defences open with breathtaking precision, his ability to deliver the perfect long ball is reminiscent of a young Paul Scholes. Still developing, there is little doubt where Verratti’s talent will take him.

Nabil Bentaleb: Fans of the Barclays Premier League have already been introduced to this 19-year-old Algerian midfielder who was given an opportunity by Tim Sherwood to feature for Tottenham Hotspur. Bentaleb was picked ahead of Brazilians Sandro and Paulinho, and Belgian international Mousa Dembele, giving an indication of how highly his former manager rated him. Showing indications that he may well be a complete midfielder, Bentaleb excelled in a holding role, but has also shown a keen eye for goals at youth levels.

Daniel Carvajal: It would be cruel to finish this list without including even a single defender, but Daniel Carvajal’s presence in this list is hardly a mercy addition. Carvajal joined Real Madrid as a 10-year-old and worked his way through the youth ranks at the club. Jose Mourinho failed to appreciate his talent and sold him to Bayer Leverkusen without giving him a single game for Los Blancos, but at the start of this year Carlo Ancelotti brought the 22-year-old back to Madrid and installed him as his first choice right back. Since then, Carvajal has notched up 44 appearances for his boyhood club already – not to mention the coveted décima.